Interesting developments on US polls:

More Americans worried about Taiwan

Taiwan-China tensions were the third-most concerning issue among Americans, with 82 percent of respondents saying the tensions were “serious” or “very serious.”

The only two more concerning issues for Americans were the partnership between China and Russia (87 percent), and China’s military power (86 percent), the poll found.

Compared with the March survey, the percentage of Americans who said tensions across the Taiwan Strait were a “very serious” concern for their country also rose by 7 percentage points.

So why the 7 percent rise? It can only be because of media coverage. So that 7 percent rise reflects a significant emphasis in the media on potential or likely conflict in the Taiwan Strait.

With public opinion being entirely formed by the media now, one really has to inspect the media and the methods it uses to sway thought. One could argue that the media is the most powerful, what, force? Entity? We don't know because just as we don't elect our international bodies like the IMF and World Bank, we don't elect our media. Shouldn't we have that option?

A lot of interesting stories regarding Taiwan and war have been produced by the media in the last 48 hours. Let's have a look:

Blinken again warns China wants to 'speed up' plan to seize Taiwan

During a talk at Stanford University on Monday (Oct. 17), Blinken said Beijing has made the "fundamental decision that the status quo is no longer acceptable" and China is now pursuing "reunification on a much faster timeline."

US Navy chief says China could invade Taiwan before 2024

The top commander of the U.S. Navy (USN) on Thursday (Oct. 19) said that a fleet must be prepared for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan that could happen at any point before 2024, far earlier than the previously anticipated date of 2027.

These two stories came out within a few days of each other. And we're to believe that they were not coordinated? Of course they were. We're going to get messages now that China could move on Taiwan at any moment; it's imminent, we just don't know when.

So the question then is, just as it appears China is prepping its citizens via these fake covid restrictions, could the US media be preparing its citizens through these fake interviews?

It would make sense if China were to make a move sooner rather than later. Assuming Xi gets his third term, why would he wait until two or three years into that term to make a move? Wouldn't it be to his advantage to start early, having five years to complete his mission? After all, at the end of this third term, he wants at least one of two things: a fourth term or a historically positive legacy.

Plus, he sees what's happening with regards to the world waking up to protecting the Taiwan Strait, and the world is way behind China. China has built it's island bases. Nationalism is at a peak. People are conditioned for hardship. They're primed and ready to go. Why wait? Plus, the world economy is diving. China real estate is plunging. Civil unrest is going to increase. A good old fashioned war would help with that.

The question is, will they take an all out, full on 'shock and awe' approach, or do it in baby steps. I'm guessing large baby steps. Look, they built those fucking islands in the S. China Sea and the world didn't say shit. Well, they didn't do shit, and that's what counts.

I think China is going to creep in like a cat. It's going to establish more footholds. It will use regional blockades that block selected ports, then maybe start with temporary total blockades under the guise of fighting terrorism or such. Maybe, maybe take an outlying island. And the world will slowly begin to accept these infractions as it becomes worn down by war in E. Europe.

And that's a big deal -- the war in Ukraine. It's sapping western reserves and public will. The US is a divided country already; it's actually in a very weak state, weak socially, politically, and economically.

So I think China will take big baby steps, and then at some point, when it is so close to Taiwan that it could deliver it's mail, it will be done. And that could take two years, with the plan being that if they are countered militarily, OK, full on war. But by then, the Chinese will be all for it and the US voters likely tired out by it all as war will likely be going on in some form or another in Europe AND there will be a US presidential election happening.

Could be an interesting decade.